Manager James Woodlock celebrates with his Tipperary backroom team at UPMC Nowlan Park. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
By Niall McIntyre
James Woodlock hailed the never-say-die attitude of his Tipperary team after their memorable All-Ireland minor final win over Kilkenny.
Reduced to 13 men after two red cards in the first half, Tipperary battled on and eventually prevailed after a stunning Billy O’Brien goal in extra-time.
Chants of Tipp, Tipp, Tipp then echoed around Kilkenny as, with the evening turning into night, a sea of blue and gold flooded out onto Nowlan Park after their 2-17 to 3-12 win.
O’Brien was the match-winner, but Tipperary had heroes all over with Euan Murray, Cathal O’Reilly and Adam Ryan in particular, outstanding.
There was no obstacle too great for them on the night, overcoming red cards, sucker-punch goals and even a home venue for Kilkenny. Speaking afterwards, Tipperary manager Woodlock was beaming with pride. “I’m just happy, and delighted to get over the line,” he said.
“I knew they wouldn’t die. They never die. I probably shipped a bit of criticism for the toss and so on, but I couldn’t take them to Tullamore where they’ve never played before.
“I was comfortable coming down here. I work down here. We won two years ago down here. We knew it like the back of our hands. We had travelled all over Munster and I was happy we were playing our best hurling on the road.”
Woodlock said that the team made a promise that they would try and win the game for Cillian Minogue and Darragh O’Hora, both of whom were dismissed in the first half.
“The boys promised themselves that they’d do it for our two lads who were sent off. You have to roll with the punches, and the boys did that. The heart they showed was something special.
“They had a huge belief from what they’ve done all year,” he added. “Something similar to the team two years ago, they stayed battling away and they came through.”
Woodlock also praised the Tipperary support for travelling in numbers to the Kilkenny venue. “I can’t thank the Tipp support enough,” he said.
“I think we outnumbered them today and when we needed the help, they came to the fore for us. Tipp hurling needed this, and these lads are a great bunch of boys to follow going forward.”
Anthony Clifford’s goal in extra-time looked like it would finally break Tipp’s resistance, but they came back for more and O’Brien was the hero.
Their 22nd victory at the grade moves Tipperary one clear of Kilkenny in the minor roll of honour. “The boys emptied themselves,” added Woodlock. “Our boys were out on their feet. We’d spoken all week about going after them and even with 13 men, we did that, we didn’t sit back. The boys are fantastic hurlers and they brought the attitude as well.”
